Assembly Resolution

Whereas, The year 2011 marks the twenty-fifth anniversary of the founding of the California Foundation for Agriculture in the Classroom, and it is appropriate at this time to highlight its many achievements and underscore the positive impact it has made to increasing the awareness and understanding of agriculture among California’s educators and students; and

Whereas, Since its inception in 1986, the nonprofit California Foundation for Agriculture in the Classroom (CFAITC) has served as a resource for educators and their students and as an advocate for farming and ranching families; and

Whereas, CFAITC supports agricultural literacy by providing free, high-quality, teacher-tested, standards-based, and scientifically-sound resources and valuable training opportunities to support common sense integration of agriculture in California classrooms; and

Whereas, With more than seven million students in California, it is essential that these children grow up with an understanding of agriculture’s critical contributions to our society and recognize their daily connection to the products grown on California farms, fields, and forests; and

Whereas, CFAITC helps support the survival of this vital industry by educating the next generation of consumers, parents, and decision-makers about the fundamental concepts of agriculture; and

Whereas, CFAITC works with a network of more than 13,500 individual educators, administrators, volunteers, and agriculture industry representatives, known as AITC Ambassadors, to provide agricultural literacy programs and a multitude of free resources to classrooms and communities across California; and

Whereas, CFAITC actively works with more than 100 partnering agriculture and education organizations to advance agricultural literacy among California students; among its greatest partners are the California Farm Bureau Federation and California’s County Farm Bureaus; and

Whereas, In its 25-year history, CFAITC has touched the lives of more than 10,000,000 California students through its agriculture education programs and resources; and

Whereas, The California Foundation for Agriculture in the Classroom enjoys a long and fascinating history consisting of a dynamic past, a challenging present, and the promise of a long and bright future now, therefore, be it

Resolved by Speaker of the California State Assembly John A. Perez, That the California Foundation for Agriculture in the Classroom be commended on the celebration of its twenty-fifth anniversary and on the vital role it has played creating an agriculturally literate California, and extended best wishes for continued success in the future.